Blog
Keep up with the latest news
on Active Trans and topics that
we care about in the region.
The following is a guest blog post by Michael Podgers, an organizer with the local advocacy organization, Better Streets Chicago. ___________ Chicago is experiencing the first balmy days of spring. But as always, winter will return, and it will bring back the many annoyances of falling temperatures, like ice and snow. For many, these are inconveniences. People may gripe, but […]
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For her efforts to make public transit stations accessible to people with disabilities, Active Trans will be honoring US Senator Tammy Duckworth with a Public Leadership Award at our Awards Reception on April 28. Thanks to Sen. Duckworth, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes funding that will jump-start the process for bringing bus, train, and subway stations around the nation into […]
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Chicago is working on a climate action plan featuring ambitious goals to reduce driving and get more people walking, biking, and riding public transit. But the current draft lacks firm commitments to redesign city streets and invest in the hard infrastructure needed to support this shift to non-car alternatives. Without these commitments, Chicagoans will not be able track progress on […]
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With gas prices surging, Mayor Lightfoot and Governor Pritzker need to step up and make it safer and easier for people to walk, bike, and ride public transit. The media is saturated with stories of outrage about the cost of gasoline and official proposals to lower prices. This way of looking at the issue inevitably ignores how the intentional development […]
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A group of eight Chicago area Congressional leaders sent a strong message to Governor Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) about how to spend newly available federal funds: factor climate change and racial equity into all of your funding decisions. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García led the effort behind the letter delivered to Gov. Pritzker and IDOT. It was […]
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Renowned novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote, “There are no second acts in American lives.” Ralph Banasiak is proving him wrong. The retired math teacher is staging his second act as a bicycling advocate. As a bicycling columnist and an active member of the Bike Palatine Club, Banasiak is working to make bicycling safe and encourage more people to take […]
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It’s the end of an era. After a decade of service to Active Transportation Alliance, Senior Transportation Planner Heather Schady is moving on, leaving behind a legacy that showcases the transformational power of walking, bicycling, and public transit in metropolitan Chicago. Schady joined Active Trans in 2009 as its transportation planner. She worked with Active Trans until 2012 and then […]
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With an influx of federal funding on its way to Illinois, advocates across the state and across the country are reminding state leadership that the funds must be spent on projects that enhance equity and sustainability. As part of that effort, Active Trans joined 50 other advocacy groups from across Illinois in sending a letter to Governor Pritzker and Illinois […]
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We were saddened to hear the news of the death of Al Sturges, someone who had a deep and enduring impact on cycling in Chicagoland and throughout Illinois. A resident of south suburban Park Forest, Sturges served as a board member and founding executive director of the state-wide bike advocacy organization Ride Illinois (formerly the League of Illinois Bicyclists), and […]
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With the Chicago area’s public transit system in crisis, advocates say the Regional Transportation Authority’s (RTA) ongoing strategic planning process has thus far failed to meet the needs of this historic moment. Active Trans joined six other regional advocacy groups in sending a letter to the RTA Board of Directors highlighting how the plan is falling short and what’s needed […]
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